Chapter 27
Ben
There was something about having an incredible woman by one’s side that managed to elevate the ordinary into the extraordinary. As Ben walked into Escapism, Melody’s hand in his, he could barely believe how lucky he was.
It wasn’t a particularly nice day. It was overcast with the threat of rainfall, but he felt on top of the world.
The pre-rain mist felt fresh and cleansing.
The deafening sounds of the city seemed to shout out a welcome.
Even the heavily trafficked roads and sidewalks gave him the impression of being part of a big, boisterous family.
Ben felt alive in a way he hadn’t experienced in a long time. The more time he spent in Melody’s company, the more he fancied he’d been gifted with some kind of enhanced vision that enabled him to see artistry and potential in things others simply couldn’t.
He felt in sync with the world around him. In his more fanciful moments, he could believe the planets themselves had aligned to bring him to this place.
“Thanks for asking me to join you this afternoon,” Melody spoke as she gave a gentle squeeze to the hand cradling hers.
He returned the soft pressure of her hand as though he were reciprocating a hug. “I’m just happy you could make it.”
It was still early days, but Ben could already tell he and Melody had something special. With time and care, he had no doubt that whatever sparked between them could ignite into a vast and wondrous blaze the likes of which he could only begin to imagine.
Melody continued to impress him at every turn.
She cared deeply for the people in her life.
She’d worked hard to find her place within a career focused on helping others.
She’d acquired great skill in activities that appealed to her.
If that weren’t enough, she radiated a warmth and goodness that made him want to close his eyes and simply bask in the sunny glow of her company.
He’d had to exert considerable willpower to pull himself away from their kiss the other night.
Melody had felt like magic in his arms, but he’d seen too many relationships crash and burn because people had jumped into a physical relationship too soon.
While he would have loved to take Melody up on the invitation he was pretty sure he’d seen in her eyes, he’d also sensed her hesitancy.
She might have been interested, but he’d bet his last dime she wasn’t ready for anything more intimate than a kiss.
As much as Melody may have thought she wanted to take things to the next level, she didn’t strike him as the type to jump into a physical relationship.
He’d had a feeling that, had they dialed things up a notch, Melody might have come to regret it in the light of day.
And that was the last thing he wanted. Better slightly blue balls and a shot at forever than instant gratification and the ruin of the tremendous potential he saw before them.
Melody checked every box he had. She was a beautiful human who left him with an insatiable hunger to get to know her and uncover all her mysteries.
It was almost embarrassing how swiftly she’d taken up residence in his mind and, he suspected, his heart.
He hadn’t realized what he was missing until they met and the puzzle pieces of the life he longed for started to fit together.
He felt like he was in the middle of a beautiful romantic dream. If he was sleeping, he didn’t want to wake up.
“There you are!” Shawna called to them from across the room, jolting him out of his musings.
Melody glanced down at her wrist to check a watch she wasn’t wearing. “Are we late?”
“I don’t think so,” Ben answered, glancing down to check his own.
“You aren’t late,” Shawna said as she bustled toward them, evidently having seen them trying to confirm the time.
“I just have the perfect person I want to pair you up with. If you’ll follow me?
” She motioned them forward with a wave of her hand before guiding them over to a young girl he guessed was around ten and a woman who looked so similar that she could only be her mother.
“Penny. Angela,” Shawna said, “I would like you to meet Benjamin Logan and Melody McGuire.
“Benjamin Logan,” Penny said from behind large circular glasses that reminded him of the ones his second-grade teacher, Mrs. Carter, had favored, “born in Mount Carroll, Illinois, and recruited to play for the Washington Capitals after three years with the Harvard Crimson. You’re ambidextrous, able to shoot both left and right, but you have grown to favor your left in recent years. ”
Ben felt his eyebrows rise as she continued to rattle off his stats. He wasn’t sure even he knew his facts and figures as well as this girl seemed to.
After what seemed like forever, Penny blinked, readjusted her glasses, and explained simply, “I’m gifted.”
Ben glanced over at Penny’s mom, Angela, to see a combination of pride, embarrassment, and simple acceptance play out over her features. He imagined she was well used to her daughter startling strangers with her ability to spit out impressive quantities of trivia.
Melody touched his arm. “I didn’t know you went to Harvard.”
“Go Crimson,” he acknowledged as humbly as he was able.
“For architecture,” the adorable little know-it-all supplied.
Ben nodded in acknowledgment. “I might have gotten in on an athletic scholarship, but I finished the year with a 3.7 GPA,” he said. It hadn’t been easy to keep up with Harvard’s academic standards while living and breathing hockey, but somehow, he’d done it.
“It’s too bad you weren’t able to finish,” Penny commented. “You would have been crazy not to sign with the Capitals, but my mom is always telling me how important a degree is.”
“Actually, I did get my degree,” he revealed with no small amount of pride. “After I got signed by Washington, I took summer classes during the off-season until I had all of the credits I needed to graduate.”
It was Penny’s turn to look surprised. “I didn’t know that.” Her furrowed brow suggested she was trying to determine which resource had let her down and left her with this gaping hole in her knowledge.
“Wow.” Melody looked a little awestruck. “You continue to amaze me.”
“I’m not just a pretty face,” he said with a wink.
His remark was flirty and superficial, but he found himself warmed by her praise. He couldn’t deny it felt good to know he had somehow managed to impress a person as remarkable and accomplished as Melody.
“You’re definitely more than a pretty face,” Melody said as she smiled back at him and leaned into his side. He wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her an affectionate squeeze. It felt so good to touch her, even in innocent, fit-for-company ways.
“Okay,” Penny said, pulling herself together and reclaiming the attention of the group. “So, you’ve got brains and brawn. How about you?” she asked as she turned to Melody.
Penny’s mom covered her face with her hands in a way that suggested she was well-acquainted with the futility of trying to stem the tide of her daughter’s words. Even gifted kids didn’t always know what constituted polite conversation.
“Well,” Melody mused with a smile that suggested she hadn’t been at all offended by Penny’s directness, “I think it’s fair to say that I’m more brains than brawn. I have a Ph.D. in physical therapy, and my take on athleticism is yoga and power walking.”
“Hmm . . .” Penny hummed. She inclined her head in thought. “Better brains than brawn in an escape room.” Of course, Penny seemed to know exactly what a physical therapist did, the little smarty pants.
“How about you?” Ben asked. “Do you have brains and brawn?”
Penny fluttered her eyelids so forcefully he feared she was about to have a seizure. “Do I look like an athlete to you?” Her skeptical regard made it clear she wouldn’t hesitate to call him a liar if he answered in the affirmative.
He chose not to touch that one directly, commenting instead, “You must be at least a little bit athletic if you’re part of the Learn to Skate program.”
Penny huffed dramatically, making him feel a bit like a fool she was being forced to suffer. “My mom thought it would be good for me to learn a sport. Since my leisure activities are not only sedentary, but solitary, I suspect she was also trying to teach me how to be more of a team player.”
“Hockey is good for all of those things,” Melody volunteered, lending her support to Angela’s assertion.
Penny just shrugged. “Credible research tells us that exercise is good for the brain. It stimulates chemical changes that enhance learning and thinking.”
“And mood,” Angela contributed with enthusiasm.
Penny twisted her lips. “And mood,” she agreed.
“Irrespective,” Penny continued, “I never would have capitulated if Learn to Skate wasn’t a no-contact league. Hockey can be a brutal game. As if I would risk my noggin like that.”
Ben gulped. He knew the stats, but it was never comforting to be reminded just how many professional hockey players sustained serious injuries while playing.
Perhaps Penny guessed at his internal thoughts because she turned to look at him with a thoughtful look on her face.
“Luckily for you, Mr. Logan,” she observed, “you have a tactical, non-aggressive style of play that makes you far less likely to sustain a traumatic brain injury than the vast majority of players in the NHL.”
“Thank you?” He wasn’t sure what to say, but her pronouncement left him feeling surprisingly reassured considering it had been delivered by someone who hadn’t even entered high school yet.
“You’re welcome.”
“Have you ever done an escape room, Penny?” Melody asked, shifting the topic. “How about you, Angela?”
Ben wondered if Melody had guessed how little he wished to contemplate the injuries that could befall him and his colleagues.
“We’ve done a couple,” Penny explained, “but Mom says they’re expensive, so we have to save them for special occasions.”
Angela flinched. Ben knew that Learn to Skate was subsidized by the Challengers organization and made available to families who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to learn to play hockey, but he imagined Angela wanted to talk about her financial situation about as much as he wanted to discuss the probability of him sustaining serious injury while on the ice.
“Well, Penny,” Ben observed, “that still makes you our resident expert. Neither Melody nor I have ever done an escape room.”
Penny cringed. “Ah geez. Newbies. No wonder Ms. Gower”—who had wandered off to organize other groups—“teamed you with me. Okay. Let me give you a crash course on escape rooms.”
Penny’s eyes flitted from side to side in a way that made him think she was assessing and organizing data in her mind.
Thoughts gathered, she explained, “All escape rooms are different, but the essentials are the same. As soon as the timer starts, we begin searching the room for clues. Once we start finding clues and solving puzzles, one puzzle will lead us to the next.”
Penny took a breath before continuing. “In theory, the games are designed for everyone. As such, we don’t want to overthink things or ignore the obvious.
I only half agree with that because knowledge is power, but the puzzles are unlikely to be so esoteric that only a specialist in their field could solve them. ”
“So, we start off in the room and then search for anything out of the ordinary that could represent a clue?” Melody asked.
“More or less,” Penny affirmed. “I haven’t been to Escapism before, but most escape rooms will blindfold participants before leading them into their game room. The clock will start once instructions have been given and we’re told to remove our blindfolds.”
“We’ll have sixty minutes to solve the final puzzle,” Penny continued.
“Most escape rooms have an escape rate between fifteen and thirty percent, but I expect us to manage this on the first try.” She pinned first him, then Melody, and then her mom with a serious look.
“So far, I’ve managed to break out of every escape room I’ve ever attempted.
I will be most displeased if we ruin my unblemished record. ”
Ben wasn’t sure whether to laugh or pull up his bootstraps, because he had no doubt Penny was serious.